The Five Stages Of Grief
by TooManyFantasies
Summary: "They will never understand", he told himself. Unfortunately, somebody did. Sokka & Yue. One Shot.


**To everyone out there trying to cope with grief. You are strong, and loved! Some might never understand your pain, but some will. Keep those people close. My heart goes out for you.**

* * *

"It can't be," Sokka whispered.

The ghostly feeling of her lips pressed lightly upon his slowly left him, along with her soul, along with her life.

When he opened his eyes the most beautiful spirit smiled down upon him. A single tear rolling down her pale face, but remaining to express happiness. It was the only thing that she could be conveying to her heartbroken lover. Her departure had been the only option, and he needed to understand that.

As her glowing spirit left the surface of the Earth to become the Moon his heart had broken. Shattered, into millions of pieces.

She left the Earth not only with her soul, but with a little piece of his along with her.

People might have been telling him to man up, to stop whining. Telling him that a fifteen year old boy had no clue about love. And truth to be told.. he wished they were right. He _was _too young to be known to the feeling of love. But that didn't heal him from his heartbreak, it only worsened.

They had no clue about his feelings, and they never would.

* * *

_Stage One: Denial & Isolation_

Sokka had been told there were five stages of grief. He didn't want anything to do with them, he would figure grief out himself.

The last few days Katara hadn't left him on his own for merely five minutes. It would be a lie if he told her that he didn't need her protection, because he_ did_ need her. But nonetheless he kept on lying for the sake of his pride.

Aang kept on telling him that it was going to be okay. That she was somewhere better, a place where she could fulfil her destiny.

Sokka told him to get lost.

Yue was still with them. He knew it. He still saw her shadows creeping in the dark. Her white hair, that would disappear behind the strangest of corners, which he connected to the beautiful snow that surrounded him at home. Home, where she would be, waiting for him. Looking out for him. Loving him.

His friends knew nothing about her.

* * *

_Stage Two: Anger_

After several weeks the three of them had reached a quiet village in the Earth Kingdom.

A kind family had offered them a roof above their head and food inside their hungry mouths. Aang and Katara had been ecstatic, pulling Sokka along with them wherever they went. Telling him how beautiful the Earth Kingdom was with all its glory.

Sokka kept pushing them away.

After three days in the Earth Kingdom Katara had enough of him and told him to stop sulking and start living.

He told her to stop taking care of him. He told her that he couldn't start living, not without his beautiful Moon Princess.

Katara cried for him as he threw doors at her face, keeping her out of his pain, out of his heart.

Aang tried to tell him about the wonders the Moon could do and what the Moon had already accomplished.

Sokka told him to leave him alone as he threw Aang's glider from the mountain top they were staying at.

Their hearts were aching for him, he knew that much. Yet he still wouldn't let them in, for they had no idea, no clue, about his pain.

And they never would.

* * *

_Stage Three: Bargaining_

After two weeks the three of them had moved on from the Earth Kingdom village and now were in the open landscape. Wandering through kilometres of forest and wading through hundreds of gently streaming rivers.

At night they camped. At sunrise they wandered.

Sokka told them they were lost.

Aang told him that people who wandered weren't always lost.

Sokka had to take his word for it.

When night fell and camp had been set up, Sokka would always find a quiet place for him to let his mind run loose. If the night was clear, the Moon would come out, giving Sokka a little bit of solace and a little bit of heartache. But as long as he could see her shining in the night, that little bit of heartache he could take.

Some nights he would look at the Moon and ask her questions which were always left unanswered.

_What if I had been a little bit earlier at the spirit pond?_

_What if I had stopped General Zhao before he could've even lay a finger on the spirits?_

_What if I, myself, had given my own life in the sake of your survival?_

As much as he wanted answers, they never came.

* * *

_Stage Four: Depression_

Katara and Aang had set journey to find Aang an Earthbending master. Sokka, of course, went along with it. They still had a war to win.

His pain had gotten a bit less with each day, his heart had gotten a little lighter, but in the darkness of the night, he isolated himself with what little pain and heartache he had left.

He would cry his heart out for the shining Moon looking down upon the Earth's surface. The Moon that looked down upon him. The Moon that saw his true colours, and only his true colours, at night. The true colours his family had never seen.

He set out a plan for himself. Be happy and energetic during the day, let all your heartache flow during the night.

It had worked out well for him the following week. Katara had been much happier at seeing his 'healing process' as she called it. Aang was still a bit weary of the sudden change.

Sokka had to admit that Aang saw his emotions more deeper than his sister could, but sometimes he hated Aang for it.

As the three of them were flying on Appa a mysterious swamp could be seen below them. Something in Sokka told him to keep on flying. Only heartache could be found down there.

But, of course, life had to be against him and pulled them down below into the swamp.

Sokka hadn't felt emotions a lot lately, so as he cut through the swamp he felt no remorse. They were just plants, they couldn't feel anything.

His sister and Aang told him otherwise. But they didn't understand.

As the three of them were parted in a violent way Sokka had been scared. For the first time since weeks he felt something towards his companions. It scared him, but it also relieved him for some inexplicable reason.

The swamp was a mysterious place hidden with mysterious creatures. Sokka considered it to be a place of terror.

As he marched on to find his companions he suddenly had been swept off his feet, falling flat onto his face on the swamp floor. As he got up with a grunt his heart skipped a beat.

Yue.

No it can't be, he thought in distress.

But she didn't vanish. She didn't move. She stayed exactly where she stood.

In his excitement he ran towards her as tears streamed down his cheeks. He wanted to run into her and envelop her into a big hug, but his hands merely went through the spirit.

It wasn't her.

It was an illusion.

He closed his eyes in pain, pressing the stinging tears out of his eyes. His heart stung with pain as he choked on his breath.

He made himself clear that when he opened his eyes the spirit would be gone.

As he opened his tear stricken eyes once more, to his relieve; the spirit had vanished. With a sigh he turned around only to be faced with the spirit once more.

A heart-wrenching sob escaped from his lips and he fell down onto his knees. He buried his face into his hands and for the first time since weeks, he cried his heart out.

Slowly, but surely, his heart began to feel lighter. His head cleared up, and his breathing regulated again. The pain flew slowly out of his body, leaving him to be much lighter than before. Leaving him better. Leaving him to feel okay.

A tiny bit of that pain had remained inside his body. Yue's death would never be something he would ever overcome. It had become part of his life, and he had accepted it with much pain, yes, but that had to be the final step in his journey of grief.

Acceptance.

* * *

_Stage Five: Acceptance_

After a few weeks they had found Toph BeiFong and included her into their group. She was an amazing Earthbender and a great friend.

At first the group had been off to a rocky start. She wasn't the most easiest to deal with. But they managed.

Sokka accepted her earlier than anyone out of their group. He didn't have the exact answer for that, but he had thought of a few things.

She didn't judge. She didn't help like Katara did. She didn't tell him about a better life for his lost loved one like Aang did. She just… listened.

After the days in the swamp Sokka had changed gradually back into his old self. His heart felt lighter and now had place for his little family once more.

He had seen the joy on Katara's face, and Aang had been smiling more frequently. Sokka at first had rolled his eyes at their antics, but couldn't help to feel touched by them. They truly cared about him as he did for them.

Even though they would never understand his pain, that was okay, he realised.

And as he, on a late night with a very clear sky, looked up upon the Moon with a peaceful heart and a clear mind, he knew that everything would be okay. Everything would work out the way they were meant to work out.

After an hour or so he finally noticed that he hadn't been alone. His dark-haired friend with milky green eyes had merely sat there, staring at the Moon along with him. A smile graced his lips as he noticed how she had not said a word. Which was quite unusual for her, but no less, he appreciated it.

"Aren't you going to ask me why I'm staring at the Moon?" he asked her.

She merely shook her head. "I figured you would tell me yourself if you wanted to," she said.

Sokka nodded his head even though she couldn't see it, but he knew she understood.

Grief was a funny yet terribly thing to experience. He learned that not everybody would understand it as he did, and that was okay. But it was an oddly happy feeling when somebody did understand, even though he had never expected it from that person.

But Toph understood, and that was enough.

So, as years passed, and the story of the warrior boy of the Southern Water Tribe and the Princess of the Northern Water Tribe who turned into the Moon became known all over the four nations, Sokka merely smiled at the Moon.

They might never understand, but some will.

That was enough for him.


End file.
